During the last two decades there has been tremendous activity with respect to the concept of blow molding thermoplastic containers from a descending extruded thermoplastic parison tubing. The thermoplastic material has most often been of either a polyethylene or polypropylene. The thermoplastic material is usually employed in the form of beads which are fed into the hopper of an extruder. Suitable heating means is provided whereby the beads are softened so that they may be driven as by screw means through a conventional die means.
Within the last decade additional innovations have been achieved whereby containers having unusual and complex configurations have been blow molded. Such blow molding operations are quite rapid and in most situations a plurality of the containers are blow molded at the same time, thereby further increasing the output.
During recent years a further development has occurred. In this development the blow molding step is accompanied by a step of filling the blow molded container, such as a bottle, with a liquid just prior to the completion of the blow molding operation. The blow molding operation is essentially concluded with the complete sealing of the bottle. Therefore, it is noted that when the bottle is charged with a liquid and sealed, the bottle must be breached or penetrated in order to obtain access thereto. Such access may be obtained by employing a penetrating cannula. On the other hand access to the interior can be obtained by employing a break away cap. The technique for providing a liquid charged blow molded container having a penetrable seal can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,860. Considerable specialized improvement on the concept can be discerned from U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,713 wherein a bottle is disclosed having a specified use.
Of even more recent date considerable interest has been generated by the teachings found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,029. It has been demonstrated that in numerous circumstances there is a decided need to provide a cap over a clean sterile breachable site on a thermoplastic blow molded container. The cap may overlie a penetrable seal or it may be merely in spaced relationship with respect to a second breakaway closure member. In such an assemblage, the outer cap is removed by breaking it away from the container along an integrally molded weakened portion to reveal the second penetrable site or break away second cap. The site or the second cap has been protected by the first cap so that they are as clean and sterile as first achieved at the time of construction.
In one of the foregoing arrangements, the first cap must first be broken away before one has access to the second cap which may be removed by manually grasping the second cap and also breaking away this second cap. Ideally, it will be appreciated, would be to provide an ingenious system whereby access is provided to the contents of the container by breaking away the first cap which action would also result in providing an aperture or opening to the contents of the container through a second cap.